The objectives of the Project are to improve the disaster resilience of critical public facilities and to enhance emergency preparedness and resilience of the City of Istanbul which remains valid, and no change is proposed for this additional financing project.
Building on the highly successful Istanbul Seismic Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness (ISMEP) Program initiated and implemented by the World Bank during 2005-2015, the ISMEP Program has since received support from many International Finance Institutions (IFIs) including AIIB financed ISMEP Project that was approved in 2019. The Project will finance similar structural retrofitting and reconstruction of priority public buildings such as schools, hospitals, and other social facilities.
Recently, the IPCU has identified the backlog of 69 additional educational buildings, built prior to 1999, that were found to be unsafe and not in compliance with the seismic resilient building code at various level. Preliminary study shows that for many buildings retrofitting are not technically and economically feasible. Therefore, reconstruction of these buildings will be required after demolition of the old structures. Feasibility study reports that these additional buildings are being carried out and funded by the KfW Development Bank (KfW).
Similar to the previous ISMEP project financed by AIIB, this additional financing Project comprises of three components as shown below.
Component A: Enhancing Emergency Preparedness This component aims to enhance the emergency preparedness of the City of Istanbul by strengthening the capacity of Istanbul’s Provincial Directorate of Disaster and Emergency and other first responders.
Component B: Seismic Risk Mitigation for Public Facilities This component is to reduce the risk of future earthquake damages to critical public facilities in order to save lives and ensure their continued functioning operation in the event of an earthquake. The component will mainly consist of retrofitting and reconstruction of the existing priority public facilities such as schools, hospitals, and other social facilities (daycare centers, aged group homes for the elderly, and orphanages, etc.). The component may also support feasibility studies, detailed designs, and construction supervision. The Project’s implementing entity, IPCU, has already identified about 40 buildings to be included in the project based on the ISMEP program’s established rules.
Component C: Project Management Support This component will support IPCU to implement the Project in an efficient and transparent manner and continue to build the institutional capacity to sustain the implementation of the Seismic Risk Mitigation and Preparedness program beyond the life of the Project.
Environmental and Social Policy, Standards and Categorization. AIIB's Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) applies to the Project. The Project has been prepared consistent with the Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), including the Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) and the Environmental and Social Exclusion List. ESS 1 (Environmental and Social Assessment and Management) applies to the Project. ESS 2 (Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement) and ESS 3 (Indigenous Peoples) are not triggered, as Project activities will not cause involuntary resettlement and no Indigenous Peoples are present in, or have a collective attachment to, the Project area. The Project is assigned Category B, by the ESP due to the limited number of potentially adverse environmental and social impacts of the construction activities that can be successfully managed using good practice in an operational setting.
Instruments. An Environmental Management Plan (EMP), based on the Environmental and Social Management Plan Framework (ESMPF) established under the World Bank financed ISMEP project and adopted by the other IFIs in the ISMEP Program, was prepared per the Environmental and Social Safeguard Policies of the World Bank and has been in place since the program's inception in 2005 and was updated in 2010. The EMP was further updated in 2019 as part of this Project to reflect new regulatory requirements in Türkiye and to codify existing practices related to stakeholder engagement and grievance management. In addition, the Project prepared an Environmental and Social Completion Report, and the EMP was revised further to attend the AIIB's ESF.
Environmental Aspects. The Project is not expected to have any significant adverse impact on any sensitive environmental receptors. Construction activities will temporarily result in localized noise, dust and combustion emissions, construction waste generation, and potentially sedimentation of the sewage system on and near project sites. Off-site impacts will be induced by the production of construction material, including but not limited to the use of natural resources such as water and energy consumption, their transportation to the site, and the disposal of debris and other waste. The EMP has special provisions for hazardous waste materials such as asbestos and sensitive impacts such as noise and dust management.
Social Aspects. The Project will not induce any physical or economic resettlement. Social impacts will comprise construction-induced nuisances such as noise, dust emissions, access restriction, and risks to community health and safety for adjacent residents and structures and concurrent users of facilities or buildings being renovated while potentially in partial use, such as schools or hospitals. Public buildings targeted for reconstruction will adopt universal design principles. During the construction, student and teachers will be reallocated to nearby facilities to minimize learning disruption. Transition plan and actions to mitigate any significant adverse impact on the students and teachers' access to educational buildings, preceding the assessment and temporary relocation of the facilities.
Cultural Resources. None of the targeted buildings are located within registered cultural heritage areas. However, due to the historical nature of Istanbul, activities to be conducted as part of the Project may occur adjacent to or near important cultural resources. During Project preparation, one contractor reported a 'Chance Find' associated with a previously retrofitted building, and two buildings had monument/registered trees onsite. For buildings near known cultural resources such as registered trees, contractors must receive approval from the Regional Preservation Council and mitigation measures must be implemented to protect the cultural resource. In the 'Chance of Finds' case, the Regional Preservation Council will assign an expert to supervise excavation under an approved plan.
Labor and Working Conditions. Project activities will involve construction risks such as earthworks, excavations, work in height, noise, underground activities, and electrical hazards during construction. The Contractors will develop management plans by the EMP. The Contractors will implement an occupational health and safety plan, including work-related accident prevention and an emergency response plan. IPCU is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the mitigation measures. The Contractors must adopt and implement Human Resource policies aligned with AIIB's requirements, especially for preventing Labor and Working Conditions issues across their operations and those of the contractors and subcontractors.
Gender and Accessibility Aspects. All schools and hospitals are designed using accessibility facilities such as ramps and elevators and have adequate facilities for women, such as separate bathrooms. As part of the enhancement of the Project, IPCU will include Gender-Based Violence (GBV) training sessions on the EMP, and opportunities for equal access to employment will also be identified. In addition, the Project will use universal design features for people with disabilities.
Stakeholder Engagement, Consultation, and Information Disclosure. All construction projects are subject to public consultations, as Turkish regulations require. Therefore, the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) for further meaningful consultation during project preparation and implementation has been prepared and integrated into the updated EMP. The process includes public hearings, focus group discussions, interviews, surveys, and communication materials. Particular attention will be paid to the inclusion of men and women in all consultations to ensure that their respective priorities and concerns are considered, particularly in the planning and execution of the Project. The EMP and its executive summary in English and Turkish are available on the AIIB’s and Project's websites.
Project’s Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM). A Project-level Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) has been developed and implemented, which includes multiple channels for stakeholders to raise grievances to IPCU and a process for investigating and responding to grievances. During Project preparation, the functionality of the GRM was assessed through a review of several successfully closed cases. As a result, a second GRM will be established for project workers as a condition for the finance. The information of established GRMs for the Project as well as the Project-affected People’s Mechanism (PPM) of the Bank both in English and local language will be disclosed timely in an appropriate manner.
Monitoring and Supervision Arrangements. The IPCU will be responsible for the overall coordination, supervision, and monitoring of the Project's environmental and social (E&S) aspects and to ensure compliance with Bank ESP requirements. The IPCU has established an environmental and social specialist team to oversee Project implementation and monitor environmental and social aspects. The IPCU will provide to AIIB with semi-annual E&S monitoring reports, which will be prepared based on an agreed format, during the Project implementation period. In addition, AIIB will conduct E&S supervision missions in line with the Bank's implementation support missions and strengthen the IPCU's E&S management efforts.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Nat Pinnoi
Infrastructure Sector Senior Economist
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